Neo Shots
by NeoRetro10K
Summary: One-shot collection. Now playing: Red - Danny is late for his dance with Valerie because of, well, Valerie. Can he get there in time to avoid suspicion?
1. What He Could Never Do

**.**

**What He Could Never Do**

The girl worked at night, when no one was awake to discover her. Flashes of green light occasionally flooded the room. The girl's project was unlike anything she had ever even considered doing before, but circumstances had become too dire for her to ignore the problem any longer. Normally, she wouldn't get involved, but that _man_... He had to be stopped, and the only one who _could_ stop him refused do so. It was time to take matters into her own hands. She kept building...

~o~o~o~o~o~

The fireplace burned in the castle's library, firelight dancing ominously across the silver-haired man's face. Several papers were skewed haphazardly across the desk, some detailing invention schematics, others depicting tactical maps and floor plans, and yet others seemed like normal business documents. A chessboard lay among the smattering of papers; a single white knight and the white queen had been captured, while the white king had been toppled over.

Almost deliriously, the man muttered to himself while he pored over the papers with a maniacal glint in his cold blue-grey eyes, until a hole was blasted through the far wall. The man reacted immediately by changing his form into what resembled a pale blue ghostly vampire with solid red eyes. This did little to help him, as a green blast subsequently knocked him into the opposite wall to the one that had exploded.

_That insolent brat, Daniel! Wait... I have ghost sensors that would have detected his ghost form half a mile away from here, even through my portal. Who- _

Another blast jumbled the man's thoughts as the wall he was pressed against crumbled as well, causing him to fall into the next room ungracefully. Looking up, he saw an unfamiliar person in a suit that quite resembled a combination of Miss Gray's old suit and her new one. This suit was more heavily armored, appearing silver instead of maroon, and green light glowed in between the armor panels. He could still see that the figure was female, and this notion was confirmed when he heard her speak, though her voice was altered a bit by a metallic-sounding filter.

"I should have done this a long time ago. You've caused enough trouble, Plasmius. Now, I can finally end this. _He_ may not be willing to do it, which is why I'm doing it for him. What he doesn't know won't hurt him, and this will only help him in the long run, when he doesn't have to deal with _you_."

The vampiric ghost hybrid's eyes widened as he realized who was speaking. _I never would have seen this coming, even with all my planning... She was always too... levelheaded for such violence. I suppose it makes sense, though; I must have pushed her too far...  
_

One more flash of green.

As the armored woman turned to make her exit, she noticed the chess board on the table. With a satisfied smirk that was masked by her helmet, she moved a white rook, which she then used to knock over the black king.

"Checkmate." _Finally_.

~o~o~o~o~o~

In the night, the metallic figure flew her hoverboard into the window of the familiar building, dismissing the board into nothingness as she landed. After looking around for witnesses, she commanded the suit to disappear as well. In the darkness, the girl still could not be seen properly.

The shadowed figure exited the room and walked across the hall to another room. Opening the door quietly, she gazed at the smaller figure in the bed.

"Good night, Danny," she whispered. "You're safe now, little brother."


	2. Hero

**.**

**Hero**

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

Sam's mind felt foggy as she returned to consciousness. Dimly, she registered a hand on top of hers, rubbing soothing circles into it. Opening her eyes, she saw her best friend Danny Fenton sitting next to her bed.

_Wait, this isn't my..._

She observed her surroundings more closely. She was in a hospital. _Well, that explains the beeping._

Danny murmured quietly, "Yeah, you can probably tell where we are. For once, Tucker was actually considering entering a hospital of his own free will, but I sent him home. I know how much he hates it here."

Smiling a bit at Danny's compassion, she looked down, seeing that her right leg was encased in a cast. She couldn't help but flinch at the thought of having to wear the ridiculous thing for six weeks. That would be embarrassing. Unfortunately, Danny misinterpreted her movement.

"I'm really sorry, Sam. Does it hurt?" he worried.

"Not at all, it's just that I realized I'm gonna have to wear this for a long time, and it'll be annoying," Sam replied. Danny's blue eyes seemed to darken.

"You don't have to pretend for me."

Sam huffed indignantly as she crossed her arms. "I'm not-"

"It's not weak to feel pain - but that's not the point," Danny interrupted. "What matters is what you remember. Do you know what happened, Sam?"

Suddenly, it all came flooding back...

~o~o~o~o~o~

_Danny, Sam, and Tucker were sitting in Mr. Lancer's English class, while the teacher himself droned on about grammar or some other nonsense like that. None of the class was really paying all that much attention. Sam was doodling in her notebook; Tucker busied himself with pressing buttons on his PDA; and Danny had long since put his head on his desk, barely resisting the urge to snore._

_Suddenly, Danny's muscles seemed to tense, and his head shot up as he let out a foggy breath as if the temperature in the room had dropped thirty degrees. Sam and Tucker noticed, as they were quite familiar with this signal and what it entailed. Before any of the three could react, however, something green and white smashed through the window, glass shattering all over the panicked classroom. The trio immediately recognized the tall white hair, the rectangular shades, and the buttoned lab coat of their most outspoken enemy: Nicolai Technus._

_"Haha! It is I, Technus, Master of All Things Electronic and Beeping! Wizard of Integrated Circuitry! Lord of..."_

_The trio had stopped listening to the loudmouthed lughead long ago. Danny had been prepared to "go ghost" and remove Technus from the school, but he noticed that instead of running, the trio's classmates were frozen in shock. If he transformed in front of all these people, the Guys in White - or even his own parents - would be on his tail for sure, promising "lots and lots of painful experiments"._

_"Now that's what I'm talking about, young whippersnappers! Cower in fear of Technus's awesome and totally hip power!"_

_If he could have done so without drawing attention to himself, Danny would have groaned loudly in embarrassment. The only thing he could do was try to sneak out while everyone's attention was on Technus._

_"Hmm. There is one thing missing. Usually, the ghost boy gets here by now." Technus must not have noticed Danny in human form trying to sneak out. "Maybe this will get his attention! Haha!" _

_Danny was almost at the door when he heard a scream. One that he knew very well. He turned and saw Sam in Technus's grasp, held by her left arm. As Technus drew his own arm back, Danny knew what he was about to do._

_"No," he whispered._

_As Technus threw the girl towards the shattered window, Danny transformed, no longer caring if anyone saw him. Danny Phantom immediately rocketed after Sam as she fell through the air, but he realized he couldn't reach her in time before his whole world seemed to tilt on its side with a sickening crack that resembled a gunshot._

~o~o~o~o~o~

Sam's eyes refocused as she came back to reality. She gasped, realizing what Danny must have gone through, while all she had to endure was the blissful embrace of a dreamless sleep. "Oh, Danny, I'm so sorry, I-"

Danny's eyes widened to the point of almost bugging out of their sockets. "What!? _You're_ sorry? I'm not the one who got thrown out a second-story window, Sam!"

"If I hadn't been there-"

"What, Sam? You wouldn't have been thrown out the _window_? You know just as well as I do that someone else would have been in your place if you hadn't been there!"

_For those of us still counting, that's three times I've been interrupted so far,_ Sam thought. Out loud, she said, "Jeez, Danny, you're talking like someone _died!_ I'm _fine._"

"What if you _had_ died, Sam? What if-"

It was Sam's turn to interrupt. "No, Danny! We've been fighting ghosts together ever since you got your powers! We all promised each other to watch each other's backs, and that means I'm going to be on the front lines with you! I'm not going to hide just because of one stupid injury!"

Danny's eyes flashed green, and he was about to reply when the door opened, forcing Danny's eyes back to blue in surprise as a nurse entered the room.

"What's going on in here? The heart monitor is showing heightened activity. Is everything okay?" The nurse asked.

Sam replied as calmly as she could. "Like I've _just_ been telling Danny here, I'm _fine_, and there's no need to be worried." For his part, Danny remained silent, sullenly staring out the window with his hands in his pockets.

"Well, alright, if you're sure..." the nurse conceded uncertainly before she left, closing the door again.

Silence hung in the air like a stench for a few seconds, before Sam finally whispered, "Danny?"

Danny turned back towards her dully, staring at the floor. "Yeah?" he muttered.

"Are you okay?" Sam wondered.

"No," he replied bluntly. "I let you get hurt, and it was all because I was too afraid to reveal my secret identity. It's a miracle no one noticed when I finally _did_ change."

Sam attempted to make a joke out of it to lighten the mood. "Yeah, well, a girl getting thrown out a window tends to draw people's attention away from the other school outcasts," she laughed nervously. Unfortunately, this only seemed to have the opposite effect than what she intended. Instead of laughing with her, Danny's eyes gained a coldness that had nothing to do with his ice powers. Even so, the look caused Sam to shiver.

Danny spoke in a monotone. "I should have saved you."

"Oh, come on, hero boy, even you can't be everywhere at once._" Not yet, anyway..._

Danny's face remained impassive. "I'm no hero. If I was, nobody would get hurt, because I wouldn't be too busy pretending."

Sam's stomach began to clench uncomfortably. "Pretending what?" she whispered shakily.

"That I'm normal."

Sam felt like she was going to be sick. "W-where are you going with this?" She asked, though she had a good idea already.

Danny's voice sounded practically robotic by now. "I can't just sit in class like everything's okay when bad things are happening, and that's not even considering the fact that I put everyone around me in danger just by being there."

"Danny, that's not-" Sam found herself interrupted yet again.

"Yes, it is. Ghosts always come after me, whether I'm Danny Fenton or Danny Phantom, and when that happens, everyone around me is at risk too. The problem is that it's worse when I'm Fenton, because I can't protect anybody like that. Danny Fenton is only human, after all." Danny transformed into Phantom, before turning towards the window.

"Please don't do this..."

Danny faced Sam again, and the horrible blankness in his eyes was reduced by something sparkling near the corners. "I'm sorry, Sam. This is the best way to protect you and everyone else in Amity Park. Danny Fenton is nothing but a loser who can't do anything. It's time for me to be a real hero. From now on, there's just Phantom."

He turned away again. Stunned, the only thing Sam could think to do was reach out towards Danny's hand, but just before she was able to touch it, he disappeared.

The door opened again, the nurse walking in. "Okay, it's time for your pain medication sweethea-" The nurse trailed off as she noticed Sam, whose arm was still outstretched as she mumbled to herself with tears in her eyes.

"He's gone..."


	3. War

.

**War**

Danny Fenton made his way cautiously through the dark hallway, trying his best not to make any noise as he walked. A stealth mission would be so much easier if only he could become invisible! Unfortunately, he currently could not use his ghost powers, and so he would have to settle for sneaking the old-fashioned way.

Finally having reached the corner, he peeked around it slowly, shifting his eyes to check for any unwanted guests.

Left... Right... Left again.

Nobody there.

Danny resisted the urge to sigh in relief. As he continued, he couldn't help feeling a growing sense of foreboding that seemed to come from somewhere in the pit of his stomach. After what seemed to be an eternity, he found his target.

Yes, this was just the door he was looking for. Hopefully it wasn't locked; without his powers, there was no way to phase into the room intangibly. He tried twisting the doorknob.

It moved.

Grinning at his luck, he pushed on the door ever so slowly so as not to alert any inhabitants that there was an intruder. He entered the doorway when there was just enough room to squeeze in, and he found himself in a bedroom with one bed, which was currently occupied. Now, to complete his objective.

Careful not to wake the bed's owner, Danny withdrew a silver device from his back pocket, changing the settings to the desired values. Then, ever so carefully, he slipped the device into the pocket of the sleeping figure. It was fortunate that the person was sleeping on top of the covers and not under them. It would have been impossible to plant the device in the planned location otherwise.

Turning to leave, Danny smirked, his mission successful. However, his exit was halted by an unexpected sound.

A very loud sound.

A sound that was not supposed to happen for another five minutes.

_PHHHRRRrrrrrRRRRRT!_

Danny froze_._

_Busted._

The lights in the room turned on with a small _click_. Danny cringed and turned around slowly, to find that the occupant of the bed was now awake, holding a light switch remote control in one hand, and the little silver device in the other. The person set the remote down, eyes never leaving Danny as they narrowed in anger.

"_What_," the person asked, "is _this_?" The device gleamed traitorously under the harsh glare of the lights.

"Uh... Um..." Danny's brain worked furiously, but his mouth refused to form words, much less a coherent sentence.

"Truth. _Now_."

"ItwasallTucker'sidea!"

The only response was a single raised eyebrow.

"T-Tucker dared me to sneak into your house and plant his sound recorder on you while you were sleeping, and I had to do it all without my powers!"

"And _what_, may I ask, was your plan of escape?"

"The t-timer was supposed to be for f-five minutes, but I guess I accidentally set it for... five s-seconds..." Danny shrugged sheepishly, trying to shrink against the wall with great effort.

The person stared at Danny expressionlessly for a few seconds, before finally breaking into a disconcerting smirk that made Danny recall his earlier instinctive dread. That smirk was _never_ a good sign.

"You _do_ realize what this means, don't you, Danny?"

Danny gulped.

The unrestrained evil glee was apparent in the tone of the person's next sentence. "This means WAR!"

Danny's mouth gaped in shock. "W-what?"

"You heard me. Nobody, and I mean _nobody_ messes with Sam Manson! Look out, Danny, because somehow, somewhere, you _will_ be pranked back for this, and there's _nothing_ you can do about it, because the prank war is ON!"

Quickly recovering, Danny took the challenge as he assumed his 'hero voice'. "We'll just see about that, villain!" He winked slyly before changing into Phantom and disappearing from sight. Bedroom empty of visitors once again, Sam let out a small chuckle, knowing that no one was there to hear it.

_Bring it on, Ghost Boy. Bring it on..._


	4. Preview: The Rookie

.

**Author's Note****: First warning: This is only a preview of a larger story. ****I originally planned for the whole story to go into this collection, but it is becoming so large that it will eventually be submitted on its own.** Second warning: this story contains OCs, due to the nature of the story. If you don't like it, don't read it, but the story won't work any other way.  


**The Rookie (Preview)**

_Hair combed? Check._

_Suit cleaned and pressed? Check._

_Tie straight?_

The black fabric was pulled slightly to the left. _And, check._

_Sunglasses on? Why do I have to wear these inside?_ _Ah well, better follow regulation, especially on my first day..._

_Oh, one more thing! My badge... Where is- ah! There it is!_

Thus ex-marine Richard Forrester's thoughts went as he prepared to start his new job. Everything had to be absolutely perfect for the boss, especially since the boss had a hair-trigger temper that could be set off by _anything_ out of place, from what he'd seen. Case in point: during his interview, the interviewer had accidentally spilled coffee on his own suit, causing his boss to practically go ballistic. Forrester idly wondered if the boss had obsessive-compulsive disorder, then shrugged it off; a lot of people in these types of jobs had problems. And if they didn't start with problems, they'd get them sooner or later...

He reached for his badge. Sleek and simple, it was a sterile, perfect white, with small black lettering and a photo I.D.

_GIW Operative R-31, Level 1 Clearance._

Richard Forrester once again looked over the government-mandated apartment he had been given. Everything was white. The walls, the floor, the ceiling - even the kitchen appliances and bed were pure white. Forrester couldn't resist a shudder; it was _too_ clean. Again, though, he had decided to live with it, if only to avoid the boss's wrath.

_Still,_ he thought, _it would be nice if I could stay at home with my daughter... The boss said that I would have fewer 'distractions' this way, though... Good thing my ex-wife agreed to take care of Melinda._

He sighed at the thought of being away from his family, _again_. His perpetual absence had led to his divorce. Wasn't that why he'd quit the Marines in the first place? But, what could he do? He'd chosen this now, and such was the nature of his work. After scanning the empty room once more, he exited through the front door, locking it behind him.

* * *

The drive was uneventful, and soon, Richard Forrester (or Operative R-31 now, he supposed) found himself at the entrance of what appeared to be an old abandoned warehouse. He was somewhat surprised that the "Number One Rule" was not in effect here, but he guessed that some things had to be sacrificed in order to keep this location a secret. After all, a pure white building with "GIW" on it would be a dead giveaway, wouldn't it?

Just as he was contemplating how to actually get in, the front door slowly opened outward with a creaking sound, finally stopping with a heavy metallic thud. _Okay, that's not creepy at all... Right... Showtime..._

R-31 stepped inside the door frame, squinting through the darkness. From what he could see, this room was completely empty. Beginning to get exasperated for being kept in the dark (both figuratively _and_ literally), he complained out loud, "I should've _known_ this was some weird prank! I mean, _seriously_? Ghosts? _Guys in White?_ How the _hell_ did they convince me of _that_ one? It's a _blatant_ ripoff of a _movie_, for Pete's sa-"

**"Voice pattern recognized: Operative R-31, clearance level 1. Welcome, Operative," **a robotic voice rang out from seemingly nowhere.

R-31 nearly jumped out of his skin. "What the-" a green cube-shaped force field surrounded him from the sides and from above, ending at the floor. "Oh, shi-aaaaAAAAAHHHH!" The floor directly under the force field _sharply_ sank below the rest of the smooth concrete, taking R-31 and the force field with it.

When the platform _finally_ stopped moving, the force field deactivated, and one of the walls of the small underground chamber slid sideways to reveal a short hallway leading to an enormous white dome-shaped room, where other white-suited agents could be seen, some strolling briskly across while others typed away at huge white computers. R-31 couldn't help it; he whistled in amazement at the sheer magnitude of the room before him. Its very whiteness was blinding.

"Enjoying the scenery, Operative?" a woman's voice asked wryly out of the dazzling light. For the second time in one minute, R-31 found himself tensing as adrenaline rushed through his system due to the unexpected voice, which spoke again. "Please, excuse me. You may not have seen me; the light takes some getting used to. Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am E-43, this division's primary Ecto-Biology Technician. We've been expecting you, Richard."


	5. Number Five

.

**Number Five**

He had finally gotten it _almost_ right. Certainly closer than the previous attempts. One through Three were simply meant to determine if he could even complete the process. Four was closer than the others, though admittedly a perplexing anomaly - he still could not for the life of him figure out how... _that..._ had happened - but _this_... This was a _true_ stepping stone on the path to the final product. He may have had to take a shortcut, but at least he had _something _to work with. Number Five was the key to the final step, but he wasn't done yet.

* * *

_One month later..._

* * *

"We good, Danny?" Sam's voice came over the Fenton Phones in Danny's ears.

"Yeah, just let me wrap this last one up," Danny replied into the earpiece. "Just the Box Ghost, no big deal. You and Tucker head on home. I've got it from here."

Sam spoke again. "You sure? I mean, we can always - " Sam was cut off by the whooshing sound of the Fenton Thermos being activated, effectively trapping the square-obsessed specter. " - just go home like you said," Sam finished dryly.

"I told you I had it," Danny smirked. "I'll see you guys tomorrow?"

"Count on it, dude," Tucker chipped in at the last moment before the three-way call was ended. Danny removed his earpieces and used his powers to move them directly to his human half's jeans pockets without actually changing back to human - when there were no ghosts, he always transferred his ghost-hunting gear to whichever half he _wasn't_ using so it wouldn't take up space.

"Well, that looks like everything," Danny muttered to himself. "I'd better get home before curfew this time..." Suddenly, a shiver rolled up his spine, causing him to gasp as fog emanated from his mouth. "And, of course, things never go according to plan..."

Danny turned, and his first impression was that he was looking into a mirror. His eyebrows rose in surprise, and the mirror theory was immediately shot down when the "reflection" did not respond. _Okay,_ he thought, _either this is me from a different timeline, again, or Vlad is trying to clone me... again. Geez, is my life so messed up that I have to deal with either clones OR time-travel more than once? Either way, I have a bad feeling..._

And that feeling got worse when the other Phantom spoke tonelessly. "I am here to bring you to my father. Do not resist, and I will not harm you."

"So," Danny growled. "Clone."

"Yes, in a way. You see, I'm not _exactly_ like you." The clone's stoic facade faltered slightly, showing the briefest hint of jealousy. "I do not have a human half. Father had to skip that particular step - take a shortcut, as he phrased it - as a hybrid cannot exist for long without a mid-morph DNA sample."

_That explains the ghost sense - it doesn't react to halfas..._

The Phantom clone continued. "That's where you come in, Daniel. Father still needs it, and you are the only one who can provide it."

It was the name "Daniel" that did it. Danny's eye twitched at being addressed as such, and by yet _another_ clone, no less! "First off, my _name_ is _Danny._ Second, what'd Vlad tell you he was gonna use my mid-morph DNA for? The same story he fed to Danielle? Did he say he was gonna stabilize you with it? Because, _newsflash_, you're a full ghost anyway! You don't _need_ to be stabilized, and it's _way_ too late to add a human half!" Danny was so caught up in his ranting, inadvertently taking his anger for Vlad out on the Phantom clone, that he didn't notice the way the green eyes darkened during the verbal barrage Danny was launching.

When the copy spoke, his voice was low with anger. "He didn't '_feed stories_' to me. He _just_ wants to make a half-ghost son." The clone's anger immediately gave way to childish glee as he continued. "Then there will be two of us! I will have a brother!"

Danny was dumbfounded at the first part, but regained his wits at the second. "Okay, so at least he told _you_ the truth about wanting a half-ghost son, which is more than can be said about what he told Danielle. But did he tell you the rest of that, too, or was the 'brother' part just your own wishful thinking?" For the first time, Danny's doppelganger hesitated uncertainly. Danny barely caught the Phantom clone's flinch, but he was internally relieved to see that he was finally breaking through to him, if only just a bit.

Danny took the moment of silence as an opportunity to get his ghostly double to see the truth. "Look, Vlad _only _wants a half-ghost son. Once he has that, he has no more need for you. Did he tell you about Danielle? About what he did to make her realize he was only using her? She was _melting_, and using her powers made it _worse_, and he tried to _force_ her to overshadow me to get me to transform! She would have _died, _and Vlad didn't _care!_"

"No! Y-you're wrong! He cares! He does, I... I know it..." The clone's eyes were now shifting rapidly back and forth as if he were trapped, though he and Danny were both out in the open. Danny, whose own anger had faded as well, only responded with a pitying frown. Soon after, they both jumped as a new voice joined the conversation.

"_So_ glad to hear your confidence in me, dear boy." Vlad Plasmius smirked, though there was no humor in the rather dark look.

The clone scurried in front of Plasmius, bowing hastily in midair like some kind of twisted puppet (_and he is, isn't he?_ Danny noted). "F-father..."

"_Vlad_..." Danny growled under his own breath, spitting the name like a curse.

Plasmius put a finger to his chin, appearing sarcastically thoughtful - a dangerous expression on that face. That look was always followed by him gleefully pointing out _exactly_ how he had won and how his opponent had _horribly_ lost. "I see that you're taking longer than expected, Number Five," he said smoothly, even pleasantly, the perfect image of calm - though beneath the surface he was anything but. "What happened to bringing Daniel to me, hmm?"

"I-I'm sorry, sir," the clone - Number Five - responded hastily, landing next to Plasmius as he did so. "I g-got sidetracked is all. I assure you, I had it all under contr-"

SMACK!

Plasmius backhanded Five across the face, causing him to stagger back a few feet with a stunned look, his eyes going wide as his mouth formed an "O". Danny himself gasped, bringing Plasmius's attention to him instead of the ghostly clone he'd just assaulted.

Vlad smirked again. "And don't think I've forgotten about _you_, Daniel. I suppose I'll just have to do this _myself_. Ah, well, just like _old times_." Plasmius shrugged casually, directing the last part at Five, who could only continue to rub his jaw in shock at the brutal comment.

"I'm not going down without a fight, Fruitloop!" Danny yelled. "You should know that by now!"

"Oh, I'm counting on it!" Plasmius grinned nastily, charging a pink energy ball in his hand as Danny did the same with green. The Phantom clone was still sitting on the ground, staring with unfocused eyes at the space in between the other two combatants. When Danny and Vlad fired at one another, ruby and emerald met in a brilliant show of light and heat. Still, Five could only watch, unable to decide what to do, confused from his conversation with his original.

Finally, Danny seemed to gain the advantage for once, knocking Vlad to the ground with a well-placed energy beam. As Danny's energy changed from green to blue, Vlad realized that all his plans were about to be put on ice, in the literal sense as well as the figurative. With that thought, Vlad turned to Number Five, calling, "Help me!"

Number Five seemed to awaken as if from a trance, eyes immediately focusing on Vlad's face. Suddenly, it didn't matter what had happened before; all Five knew was that Father was in danger. The Phantom clone quickly launched himself into Danny before Danny could freeze Vlad. The clone and the original tumbled across the ground, Five punching and clawing at Danny while Danny tried to protect himself from Five's onslaught. This time, Plasmius was the one left to watch, as he lay on the ground after his near-defeat.

"Ow! Stop! Hey! You're gonna poke an eye out! Hold on for a sec- OW!" Danny attempted to calm Five, but Five's desperate frenzy would not be halted.

"You hurt Father! All he wants to do is make a brother for me so I won't be alone! _Why can't you let me have that!?_"

"Because he's _only_ going to want the _new_ clone when he's finished _experimenting_ on me! And _then_ he'll be finished with _you_ too! I'm trying to _help_ you! Stop punching me and **_listen!_**" Danny accidentally let off a short burst of his Ghostly Wail, the hypersonic waves knocking Number Five nearly twenty feet into the air before he crashed face-down next to Danny.

As Number Five groaned from the impact, Danny got to his feet. Once he regained his breath, Danny spoke softly, trying to be more tactful this time. "You might follow his orders and do whatever he says, but without a human half, Vlad will _only_ ever see you as a ghost, and just a clone of one at that. _Please_... Let me _help_ you." Danny held out his hand toward Five, who looked up, his nose leaking ectoplasm from his fall. Just as Danny thought Five would actually decide to take his hand, Five grinned instead - somewhat insanely, Danny thought.

"You're right. I can't ever become human..." Five cackled madly in a way Danny never imagined his own voice could laugh. "But _you_ can!"

Before Danny knew what was happening, Five lunged at him, becoming intangible at the last moment and overshadowing him. Danny felt like all of his senses were sucked into a small corner in the back of his brain, imprisoned in his own mind while his body took instructions from Five.

In Danny's body, Five changed Danny's form from the ghostly Danny Phantom to the human Danny Fenton, relishing in the newfound warmth the living body provided. Five smiled peacefully for a moment, before suddenly remembering Vlad, running to him and helping him stand. Vlad changed back to human as well, using his hands to brush dust off of his expensive suit.

"Well done, my boy," Vlad congratulated Five, but it sounded... empty to him. After talking to Danny, Five had to wonder now, whether or not he was imagining the coldness in Vlad's tone. He hadn't noticed before... It was probably just Danny's earlier words making him imagine things.

But he hadn't imagined Vlad striking him earlier.

Still, that was the only time anything like that had ever happened, and so Five decided to ignore it as he said, "Thank you, Father."

"Yes, now I can complete my plans of having the _perfect_ half-ghost son!" Vlad exulted triumphantly. Five's (or Danny's, overshadowed by Five) stomach clenched at the way Vlad said "_my _plans" instead of "_our_ plans," and the way he emphasized the word "perfect" as well.

"Um... P-permission to speak, Father?" Five squirmed uncomfortably. This half-human body suddenly felt _too_ warm, and as a full ghost, _any_ warmth at all was alien to him.

"Well, don't just stand there! What do you want!?" Vlad shouted impatiently.

"Well... N-now that I'm overshadowing Danny from the inside... and since he's a hybrid between human and ghost like you, then... Don't you already have a perfect son?" Five asked hopefully.

At this, Vlad only laughed in amusement, and it was then that Five knew he hadn't imagined the detachment with which his "father" spoke. "Overshadowing Daniel? Number Five, that's a party trick." Vlad chuckled again, and his voice became mocking. "Do you plan on holding that state forever? Overshadowing a hybrid is _much_ more difficult than overshadowing a standard _human_, dear boy. Daniel _will_ force you out eventually. No, I'm looking for something a little more genuine, something on the genetic level."

Knowing that he was quickly losing Vlad's favor, Five panicked, resorting to the only trick he could think of in his agitated state: a threat. He _had _been taught by the man after all. "Well, how do you know your '_perfect'_ half-human clone won't _betray_ you like Danielle did? That's right! Danny told me _all_ about her! As far as you know, _I'm_ the only one who'll _ever_ do what you say!"

Vlad's face suddenly became very red. "_NEVER SPEAK OF THAT GIRL IN FRONT OF ME AGAIN!"_ he shouted. Once more, Vlad drew his hand back, but Five was faster this time, acting on instinct and reflexes. Quickly forcing Danny's form back to Phantom, Five fired a green beam of ectoplasmic energy at Vlad's face, knocking him down once again. However, Five's thoughts finally caught up to his reflexive actions, and now he was panicking for a different reason. He had just attacked Father!

Without thinking, he exited Danny's body, which crumpled to an unconscious heap on the ground as Five quickly rushed to Vlad's side. Five fell to his knees next to Vlad, repeating, "I'm sorry! Father, please forgive me, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! You were going to hurt me, and I-I just... I reacted! It was an accident!"

By this time, Danny had awoken to the scene, sitting up dizzily, wondering what the _hell_ kind of conditioning Vlad had put this clone through to make him so devoted to him, even after being rejected by him in every way possible! For God's sake, he was _apologizing_ to Vlad for _defending _himself from the man! Danny felt sick just from watching. He turned his head away, focusing on the feeling in his limbs, which had felt numb while he had been possessed by the very clone he still pitied, even now.

Meanwhile, Vlad's eyes refocused to see Number Five leaning over him, hand extended in the exact same way as Danny's hand had been extended to Five himself only minutes before. And just as Five had done to Danny, Vlad declined Five's assistance, instead knocking the proffered hand away, preferring to stand on his own.

"F-Father?" Number Five questioned meekly. "A-are you alright? I didn't mean to do that, it just sort of happened, and I-"

"Don't." Vlad growled. It was so low, Five almost hadn't heard it.

"What?" Five whispered.

"Just don't." Vlad repeated, slightly louder this time.

"I don't underst-"

"YOU _SHOT_ ME! YOU _BETRAYED_ ME! YOU'RE WORTHLESS! DO YOU HEAR ME!? WORTHLESS, JUST LIKE THE OTHERS!" Vlad roared. In his anger, Vlad created a large white-hot ectoplasmic energy ball using both hands. Its brightness was blinding, and Five was certain that it contained enough power to end him on the spot, possibly reducing him to less than ash.

Although the plasma sphere in Vlad's hands was glowing like a miniature sun, Five's eyes remained wide as he took a single step backward before he tripped over a fallen tree branch, landing on his backside. At this moment, Vlad threw the luminescent orb, and Five flinched, closing his eyes for the final blow...

Five felt nothing.

_... Five flinched, closing his eyes for the final blow..._

Still nothing. It shouldn't have taken this long for the blast to reach him, surely?

_... closing his eyes for the final-_

A finger tapped Five's shoulder. Five scrambled to his feet, looking around wildly before his eyes finally settled on his original counterpart. Five realized that Danny must have blocked Vlad's shot with an ectoplasmic shield.

Danny was currently in human form, holding a Fenton Thermos. Danny shook the device lightly with a small smile on his lips, though his eyes were full of sympathetic grief.

With Plasmius contained in the Thermos, Number Five finally allowed himself to break down, tears falling from his eyes as he sank to his knees. Danny hesitated for a moment, then walked to stand beside his distraught clone, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Number Five sniffled. "Y-you were right... -_hic_- You were always -_hic_- r-right..."

Danny only bowed his head, closing his eyes regretfully as he did so.

"I-I'm s-sorry for -_hic_- overshadowing you..." Five mumbled.

Danny sighed.

"No... _I'm_ sorry," he whispered.

The only response Danny received was more sobbing.


	6. Red

.

**Red**

"Oh, not _this_ again!" Danny Phantom found himself speeding away from an angry Valerie after his latest "fight". Mostly, it had only involved an argument between Johnny 13 and his girlfriend Kitty. Something about the arrangement of the furniture in their lair in the Ghost Zone. They had gotten overly vocal about it, forcing Danny to put a stop to it. After the "Paulina Possession" incident, Johnny and Kitty had become less antagonistic towards Danny, and so, for once, he was able to simply calm them down and get them to go back home willingly.

Danny had mentally thanked the stars for allowing him just _one_ easy day - now he had time to prepare for the school's latest dance - when his thoughts were interrupted by Valerie's appearance in her red ghost-hunting outfit. _I can't even THINK without jinxing myself!_ he fumed.

Now, he was running - well, _flying_ - for his life, with Valerie not far behind on her hoverboard. _This is just great,_ he complained mentally._ How am I supposed to go to the school dance with her, when I know that she's trying to kill half of me?_

As a pink ray of light nearly took his ear off, he turned his head and called back to Valerie, "Ha! You mis-"

Danny was interrupted when the left side of his face slammed into a translucent pink glassy surface, followed shortly by the rest of his body. He was going to feel _that_ in the morning... And probably the next few afterward, too.

"Actually, I think my aim was pretty spot on, if I do say so myself!" Valerie smirked menacingly. "Ghost Shield Projection Gun, fresh from my employer!" she gloated triumphantly.

Danny turned towards Valerie, rubbing his jaw. Realizing he was trapped, he gave a nervous chuckle. "Heh, heh... Uh, did anyone ever tell you that red's a really good color on you?" he babbled, saying _anything_ to distract her, to no avail.

"Well, I think _green _is a really good color on _you_, Phantom, which is fortunate, because you're gonna be covered in it very shortly." Valerie growled. Danny gulped and closed his eyes, resigned to his fate, when he heard the sound of... Was that a motorcycle engine?

"Hey! Back off from the little dude! Beating him up is _my_ job! Shadow, attack!"

Danny was rarely so grateful to see one of his enemies, but this was one of those occasions. Johnny's Shadow became intangible and passed through Valerie's hoverboard, causing its engines to malfunction and sending it careening toward the ground at a rapid pace. Fortunately, Danny was able to fly under it, holding it steady above him as he lowered it safely to the ground. Once more ignoring Danny's rescue of her, Valerie aimed an ectogun at him, right before Shadow flew through the silver and pink firearm as well, forcing it to power off with a crackle of electricity. Shadow returned to Johnny, who then maneuvered his motorcycle towards Danny, grabbing him by the arm and yanking him onto the back seat before speeding away.

Reaching a clearing in the trees, the motorcycle stopped, and Danny dismounted. Looking up at Johnny, he asked, "Why did you save me?"

"We might've fought in the past, but it was always a misunderstanding. Plus, you're kinda my and Kitty's unofficial couples' counselor, so..." Johnny trailed off awkwardly.

Danny smiled earnestly. "Thank you."

"Just returning the favor for helping me and Kitty stay together. You know, you're actually a cool guy, for a little dude," Johnny said, holding out a fist, which Danny bumped with his own. "Well, I gotta get back to Kitty before she gets mad at me again for being away for so long, even if it's just a few minutes."

Danny's eyes widened. "Oh! That reminds me! I gotta get to the dance! See ya later, Johnny!" he called back as he raced off in the direction of Casper High. He hoped that Valerie would be in a better mood by the time they had to dance together. She may hate Danny Phantom, but she had a date with Danny Fenton, so he was counting on his secret to protect him from any of Valerie's leftover anger.

Phasing into the janitor's closet as he usually did, Danny Phantom became Danny Fenton in a flash of bright blue-white light. He rushed out the door after listening for footsteps outside and determining that no one was around to see him. He just hoped he could make it to the gym before-

"Valerie!" he blurted out in shock as he skidded around the corner, coming face-to-face with the girl in question. She was wearing a strapless red sequined dress that stopped just above her knees. He was momentarily entranced, until the girl's voice broke him out of his reverie.

"Yes, that's my name," she smirked, though this time, it was playful instead of leering, and Danny was extremely appreciative of the fact. "Glad you remembered, Fenton," she continued. "Woulda been awkward if you didn't, in which case I might have had to punch your lights out." For the second time that evening, Danny found himself gulping, and the words slipped past his lips without conscious thought.

"You know, I really like your dress. Red is a really good color on-" He stopped, eyes widening. Valerie's own eyes widened as well.

"... You..." she whispered.

He didn't know if she was finishing his sentence, or if it was a simple statement of his identity, but one thing was for certain: she knew.


End file.
